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 Jo Adetunji |
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| A British poker
champion who is accused of murdering his wife and enjoying a "playboy" weekend
in Las Vegas using her money can be extradited to the United States, a judge
ruled today. Marcus Bebb-Jones, 46, allegedly murdered his wife Sabrina, 31, in September 1997 before dumping her body in a nationalpark in Colorado. US authorities claim he then spent thousands of dollars on credit cards before attempting to kill himself. Bebb-Jones was arrested in a police raid at his home in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, last year after American authorities issued a warrant. US prosecutors claimed Bebb-Jones, who ran a hotel in Grand Junction, Colorado, with his wife, was "obstructive" during an American police investigation and had told detectives conflicting stories. Full remains of Bebb-Jones' wife, also the mother of a young child, have never been found. Her skull was found in 2004, seven years after her murder. Speaking on behalf of the US government, Aaron Watkins said: "On the weekend following that incident, it is said, Mr Bebb-Jones went to Las Vegas and spent thousands of dollars, partially using credit cards in his wife's name. "He lived a playboy lifestyle during the course of that weekend which culminated in him putting a gun in his mouth and shooting himself in the head. Whether by judgment or design, he did not cause any life-threatening injuries." He added: "Despite extensive efforts to clean the vehicle in which the murder is said to have happened, blood matching his wife's was found in many places in the vehicle. The upshot is that the case against him is very strong. This offence is so serious he faces life imprisonment without the possibility of parole." Bebb-Jones returned to the UK after living in the US for eight years. Lawyers acting for Bebb-Jones, who was described as "mild-mannered" by a fellow poker player, have argued that extraditing him to the US would breach his human rights because he could face an immutable sentence of life without parole. District judge Howard Riddle, sitting at City of Westminster magistrates court, said he saw no reason that Bebb-Jones could not be extradited to the US. Riddle said that if Bebb-Jones was sentenced to life without parole it would fall short of inhuman and degrading treatment.Although a sentence of life without parole would be "unlikely" in Britain, the judge said: "[The sentence] is not obviously or clearly grossly disproportionate.On these facts the prospect of a whole life term falls short of inhuman and degrading treatment." He said a number of features of the case had aggravated the offence. "The victim was the mother of a small child. If the murderer was this defendant then, of course, he knew that. What happened afterwards, and in particular the fact that the full remains have never been found, may well exacerbate the offence," Riddle said. Bebb-Jones' lawyers also argued that he could face the death penalty but Colorado state prosecutors have said they would not seek it. However, his lawyers argue that assurances that this would not happen cannot be relied upon. They said: "There remains a real risk that the defendant will be sentenced to the death penalty." The case has been referred to the home secretary who holds the final decision. |
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